Maria Ginanni Vs. F. T. Marinetti: Women, Speed, And War in Futurist Italy (Essay‪)‬

Experimentation, Gender, Time, Space, and Speed in Wartime Futurism Even before it was published as a volume, F. T. Marinetti's Come si seducono le donne became the object of a lively debate on the pages of L 'Italia futurista, the principal wartime Futurist journal, published in Florence from June 1, 1916 to February 11, 1918. The debate was stirred by previews and publicity, and included reactions by Futurist women that were hardly positive. (1) The need was generally felt among the contributors to appear undivided in time of war, and loyal to the Futurist leader who was then at the front (or in the hospital recovering from wounds); yet a number of interventions published by L'Italia futurista, including articles by Rosa Rosa and Enif Robert, were openly critical of Marinetti's book. The controversy soon turned into a wider discussion on woman, gender, and war, which took off on its own and became a prominent feature of the journal. Not only was there a semi-regular column devoted to the "woman question," but issues of gender emerged often on the journal's pages over the three years during which it was published. This was due in part to the participation of women, a new phenomenon in the cultural history of Italy.